LanSchooled

By: Jay W.

A new wave of technology meets a new wave of supervision. An application, LanSchool, has been launched to improve and manage the classroom.

LanSchool aims to monitor student’s laptop screens, and offers other functionalities to aid the classroom’s efficiency. “Last year we ran into the issue where students were on their devices, while the teacher was trying to captivate the class,” said Mr. Scarpino, from DHS’s tech department.

However, “It’s not just a way to see what you’re doing,” he said about LanSchool’s functionalities. “Students can ask questions, and the teacher can comment back and forth.”

LanSchool also can be helpful to teachers for other reasons. “If multiple students have the same question – I can broadcast my screen to the class,” said Mr. Files. “I like that I can send a message to students without interrupting the flow of class.” Mr. Files said that LanSchool allows for teachers to send notifications, show different screens, and monitor the classroom, all of which are helpful for keeping students engaged.

However not all students have the same opinion as teachers. “It’s a glorified spying program,” said junior Zachary C. “It feels like the teachers don’t trust us,” he said. Others said sometimes it did not function properly. “It actually went berserk the other day, and showed a bunch of a teacher’s random stuff,” said senior Gretchen M.

A few students said that teachers have the right to use LanSchool. “I think it’s needed in a sense – it’s their laptops; it’s their right,” said junior David G.

For some, LanSchool is not a new topic. “It was piloted last year with a couple teachers – with very favorable results,” DHS principal Mr. Stephens said. “If you can’t handle going to class and just doing class stuff: you need your own device,” emphasizing the idea that these are school laptops that should only be used for school purposes. The days of online proxies and watching movies after a test are over. Love it or hate it, LanSchool is here to stay.

Mr. Scarpino also said that for any faculty who are unfamiliar with the mechanics of LanSchool, that they should attend his training programs that are on Wednesdays and Thursdays (7:15 – 8:15 a.m) or Fridays (2:45 – 3:45 p.m).